


By My Side Would You Stay?

by labeth_midori



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Blood and Injury, Embarrassment, F/M, Full Moon, Hurt/Comfort, Naked Male Clothed Female, Nakedness, POV Multiple, Tenderness, Werewolf Remus Lupin, Wolfsbane Potion, mutual crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:42:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24362263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/labeth_midori/pseuds/labeth_midori
Summary: This isn't the first time Tonks has seen the beforehand effects on Remus prior to a full moon, but this is one of the worst she's witnessed. Unable to sit back and do nothing, Tonks decides to lend a hand.
Relationships: Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks
Comments: 7
Kudos: 37





	By My Side Would You Stay?

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic I've written. Oh boy, I'm nervous!
> 
> This is set roughly around the time of Order of the Phoenix.

Tonks was never awake so early in the morning, especially on her days off. In fact, she’d been restless in her sleep all night. Her mind kept going back to Remus.

She’d been thinking about him a lot recently. Those times when he’d smile at her from across the table at Order meetings. That wonderful twinkle came into his eyes every so often. And how his face lit up when he laughed.

Remus had even walked her home a few times. Though she could just apparate back, she enjoyed the time walking gave them to talk one-on-one. He had great stories to share, but he would always listen to her as well.

This crush of hers was getting a little out of hand, but that wasn’t why she was so restless.

The other night at the Order meeting, Remus had looked awfully ill. His face had been grey and there were lines under his eyes like he hadn’t slept in days. He’d tried to keep involved with the meeting’s discussions, but he was far quieter than he usually was. Then when Tonks went to find him in the library after the meeting had finished, she found him asleep on a couch. She knew the full moon was coming up and this wasn’t the first time she’d witnessed the beforehand effects it had on Remus, but this was the worst she’d ever seen it.

She rolled over in bed, her eyes flickering open. With a groan, she dragged herself out of bed and staggered over to her curtain to pull it aside. The full moon was still shining in the dark sky, but it was sinking lower and lower as morning drew nearer. She ran her fingers through her short hair. She knew she wasn’t going to get much more sleep tonight. Whirling around, she hurried to her wardrobe, banging her knee against the end of her bed as she went.

*

“Tonks?” Sirius sounded as surprised as he looked when Tonks entered Grimmauld Place. “What brings you here?”

“Oh, you know,” Tonks replied, trying to sound casual. “Just thought I’d pop by.”

“At five in the morning?” Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Um, yeah.”

Her foot caught on the usual bucket of umbrellas, sending the contents skittering across the floor. Grumbling, she bent down and started returning everything to its original place. Sirius also knelt down and helped with slotting the umbrellas back in.

“You were worried about Remus, weren’t you?” he said.

Tonks stopped what she was doing and stared at him. For once, she didn’t have a light and cheeky remark up her sleeve. She expected Sirius to tease her, but instead offered her an understanding smile.

“You can come help me out if you want,” he said. “He’ll be changing back soon.”

Tonks wordlessly followed Sirius into the kitchen, where a box of bandages sat on the table next to a bowl of steaming water.

“I thought the wolfsbane potion… helped?” she asked, not quite sure how to phrase the question without sounding too rude.

“It does. When he’s transformed, he still remembers who he is,” Sirius explained. “But, when he changes between… well, sometimes he still gets hurt. Can you get some blankets out of that cupboard?”

Tonks opened up the cupboard Sirius had directed her to, finding it stocked with old and new blankets alike. As she dragged a few out, a wolf-like whine echoed through the house.

“Where is Remus anyway?” Tonks asked, plopping the blankets on the table.

Sirius sighed, pausing in his placing of another wash cloth beside the bowl. “The stubborn idiot. I’ve told he can use one of the rooms during the full moon, but he insists on staying in the basement.”

“What? Why?”

“He’s still worried he’ll hurt someone, potion or not.”

At moment, the wolf-like whines were replaced with very human screams that ripped through Tonks’ heart. How much pain must Remus be in to scream like that? A fire was burning inside her, telling her she had to do something to help at the very least.

“Okay, we got blankets, bandages, cloths and water. Anything else?” she asked.

Sirius cast her a look and smirked. “That should do it. Best if I take the bowl and cloths. You take the bandages and blankets.”

“What do you mean by ‘best if?’” Tonks exclaimed.

“No offence, but we don’t want to lose this water ‘cause you tripped,” Sirius replied.

Tonks huffed and hefted the box into her arms with the blankets resting on top. There’d be no trips and falls this time. She’d show him.

*

Remus had his eyes tightly shut. He didn’t need to see the blood he could feel dripping down his side from where he had scratched himself with his claws. Though he’d managed to sleep most of the night, the lack of sleep over the previous evenings combined with the strain of the transformation had left him exhausted.

He heard the creak of the door opening. Sirius coming to patch him up probably. It was so good of him to do this, especially with the ridiculously early mornings that entailed. But then Remus heard the sound of feet slipping, followed by several thuds and a moan that definitely didn’t belong to Sirius. Reluctantly forcing his eyes open, he saw a pair of bright red combat boots and short pink hair.

“Tonks?” he rasped.

The young witch, who was still rubbing her butt from where she’d landed on it, smiled. He loved the way she smiled.

“Hey, Remus,” she said.

“This is why I’m carrying the water,” Sirius called from halfway up the stairs.

“Yeah, yeah,” Tonks grumbled.

Remus became uncomfortably aware of how exposed he was. Not only was Tonks seeing him naked, which was embarrassing enough, but she was also seeing what the curse had done to him. The wounds. The blood.

He tried to pull himself up, but his arms were shaking just from trying to support himself. Both Tonks and Sirius rushed over to him, each of them taking an arm to loop over their shoulders.

“Take it easy, Remus. You don’t need to over-exert yourself,” Sirius said.

“That’s right. We’re here for you,” Tonks added.

Remus glanced between the both of them. It had taken him a long time for him to believe that his friends would really stay with him because of what he was. Over the years, he’d come to trust Sirius and James and later Lily. He bitterly recalled that he’d once trusted Pettigrew the same way. However, he hadn’t known Tonks nearly as long. Though he’d grown very close to her over the past several months, his feelings for her growing just as strong, he believed there was no way Tonks would reciprocate his feelings for so many reasons, his condition being one of them. But, now she was here and he didn’t know what to make of that.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the conversation between Sirius and Tonks.

“You support him and I’ll clean these cuts,” Sirius said.

“Got it,” Tonks replied.

Sirius detached himself from the link and Remus found all his weight now leaning against Tonks. He tried to hold himself up, since she was smaller than him, but it was hard to achieve in his current state. He winced as Sirius used a damp cloth to clean his wounds and found himself leaning his head on Tonks’ shoulder. Was she always so warm? It was the closest he’d ever been to her. He felt a little ashamed of how good it felt to be so near her.

He hardly moved as his side was cleaned and bandaged. Several times he would give a grateful smile to Sirius and to Tonks. A couple of times when he glanced Tonks’ way, he could’ve sworn her cheeks were as pink as her hair.

At one point, Sirius went back up into the kitchen to prepare some camomile tea, leaving Remus alone with Tonks. Was Remus imagining things, or was Sirius smirking? Tonks was wrapping a blanket around Remus and he had averted his eyes in embarrassment.

“Would you mind passing me my clothes please?” he asked, his voice coming out lower than he’d intended. He pointed to where he’d put them when Tonks asked.

“You know, you don’t have to be so embarrassed. You’re not the first man I’ve seen naked,” she remarked.

Remus’ head whipped around, his cheeks flushing red. He tried to say something back, but his mouth had gone dry. Tonks flashed a small, teasing grin before she pulled out her wand.

“Accio!” With a quick flourish, his clothes flew out of the gloom and into her lap. “Here,” she said, passing them over to him. She then shifted around and sat to face the other way.

“I thought… you were…” He was failing to find the right words to phrase his question.

“It seemed like it was bothering you, so I thought I’d give you a little privacy,” Tonks replied.

Remus stared at Tonks’ back for a moment. She had a way of being able to surprise him in so many little, unexpected ways. Grateful of the gesture, he began to pull his clothes. He winced occasionally, which caused Tonks to cast a glance back. He would offer a smile to assure he was alright, to which she would smile back and turn her gaze forward.

Once he was re-dressed, Tonks was by his side, with his arm slung over her shoulder as they trudged up the stairs.

“I’m sorry about this,” Remus said.

“About what?” Tonks asked.

“About everything,” Remus replied. “For you having to see me like this. For all the hassle I’ve caused you.”

Tonks snorted. “Remus, it isn’t a hassle. I wanted to help you out. I… I didn’t want to say anything, but I’ve been worried about you the past couple days.”

Remus glanced at her. Yes, the days leading up to this particular full moon had left him knackered, but he’d pushed himself to continue on like normal. He’d hoped not too many people had taken notice. Sirius had, so had Molly Weasley when she’d come by. Now, he knew Tonks had noticed too.

“I’m sorry for worrying you,” he said.

“Oh, quit apologising so much. I’m glad I was here for you,” Tonks replied. “And, I’ll be here for you in the future too.”

At that moment, all Remus wanted to do was hug Tonks. To show her how much her words meant to him. But he held himself back, not wanting to freak her out. Instead, he offered her a heartfelt and grateful smile and said, “Thank you, Tonks.”

*

Later that morning, Sirius found Tonks and Remus both asleep in the lounge room. They’d been sitting on the same couch when the restless night had caught up with the pair of them. Now, Tonks lay with her head resting on Remus’ shoulder while Remus’ own head gently leant against hers. Sirius snickered at the sight before he snuck out, leaving the pair in the comfort of one another.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed reading this little fic of mine. Remus & Tonks are one of my favourite relationships in Harry Potter & I really wanted to have a go at writing about them. I wanted to explore Tonks supporting Remus after one of his transformations, so this is it.
> 
> The title of this fic was inspired by the song "Kindly Calm Me Down" by Meghan Trainor. Specifically, the verse: "If I lay in pain, by my side would you stay?"
> 
> Thanks for reading this silly little story of mine & take care out there.


End file.
